Easter Sunday is one of those big lunch days of the year and it always calls for lamb. It is expensive, but a lovely treat. If you ask your butcher to butterfly it you will find that it cools a bit faster and is much easier to carve. This recipe uses rosé wine in the gravy, which is lighter than red, but much more fragrant and a touch sweeter than a dry white – which I would normally use. However, it all depends on your taste, so use what you prefer. Redcurrant jelly is one of those things that are good to have in the cupboard. It goes very well with casseroles.
Happy cooking.
Fragrant roast
spring lamb
Serves six
Ingredients:
2 1/4kg (5lb) leg of lamb, bone in5 tbsp of garlic Donegal rapeseed oil1 tbsp of chopped fresh rosemary2 large carrots, roughly chopped1 large onion, roughly chopped3 celery sticks, roughly choppedSmall sprigs of bay, rosemary and thymePared rind of 1 lemon1 tsp of plain flour½ bottle of rosé wine500ml of lamb or chicken stock1 tbsp of redcurrant jelly,
plus extra to serveSqueeze of lemon juiceSea salt and freshly ground black pepperBoiled new season potatoes with mint, to serveMethod:
1 Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F, gas mark six). Using a small knife, trim away any excess fat from the lamb and place the fat in a roasting tin. Then criss-cross the top and sides of the lamb with the knife, making shallow incisions. Mix half of the garlic rapeseed oil with the rosemary and season to taste. Set aside to allow the flavours to develop.2 Place the roasting tin over a medium heat and warm up the lamb fat with the rest of the garlic rapeseed oil for one to two minutes. Add the lamb and rub the rosemary-infused oil over the top and into the slashes. Keep turning the lamb over in the hot oil until it beings to colour all over. 3 Tip the vegetables and herb sprigs into the tin and sprinkle the lamb with a little extra salt. Roast it in the oven for 50 minutes, or until the outside fat starts to brown. Remove the tin from the oven and reduce the temperature down to 160°C (350°F, gas mark four).4 Scrape the vegetables away from the bottom of the tin and turn the lamb over. Baste with a little of the fat and continue to roast for another 45 minutes for medium-rare. To test if it is done, insert a metal skewer into the thickest part of the leg – the tip should feel warm to the touch and the juices that run out of the meat should be fairly pink.5 Remove the lamb into a warmed dish and cover with a loose tent of foil. Blanch the lemon rind in a pan of boiling water for one minute, then drain and set aside. Remove the vegetables from the roasting tin (reserve any that aren’t too dark for tucking around the roast), then pour off all but one tablespoon of the fat. Put the tin on a medium heat and sprinkle over the flour, stirring constantly. Pour in the wine, lemon rind and stock and boil rapidly for about 10 minutes until the gravy thickens, colours and is reduced by half. Season to taste and stir in the redcurrant jelly and add the lemon juice, then simmer gently until the jelly is just melted. Strain into a clean pan and then once it’s hot, pour it into a warmed gravy jug.6 Carve the lamb into thin slices and serve with the reserved roasted vegetables, boiled new season potatoes with mint and hand around the gravy separately at the table with a dish of redcurrant jelly so everyone can help themselves.
Easter Sunday is one of those big lunch days of the year and it always calls for lamb. It is expensive, but a lovely treat. If you ask your butcher to butterfly it you will find that it cools a bit faster and is much easier to carve. This recipe uses rosé wine in the gravy, which is lighter than red, but much more fragrant and a touch sweeter than a dry white – which I would normally use. However, it all depends on your taste, so use what you prefer. Redcurrant jelly is one of those things that are good to have in the cupboard. It goes very well with casseroles.
Happy cooking.
Fragrant roast
spring lamb
Serves six
Ingredients:
2 1/4kg (5lb) leg of lamb, bone in5 tbsp of garlic Donegal rapeseed oil1 tbsp of chopped fresh rosemary2 large carrots, roughly chopped1 large onion, roughly chopped3 celery sticks, roughly choppedSmall sprigs of bay, rosemary and thymePared rind of 1 lemon1 tsp of plain flour½ bottle of rosé wine500ml of lamb or chicken stock1 tbsp of redcurrant jelly,
plus extra to serveSqueeze of lemon juiceSea salt and freshly ground black pepperBoiled new season potatoes with mint, to serveMethod:
1 Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F, gas mark six). Using a small knife, trim away any excess fat from the lamb and place the fat in a roasting tin. Then criss-cross the top and sides of the lamb with the knife, making shallow incisions. Mix half of the garlic rapeseed oil with the rosemary and season to taste. Set aside to allow the flavours to develop.2 Place the roasting tin over a medium heat and warm up the lamb fat with the rest of the garlic rapeseed oil for one to two minutes. Add the lamb and rub the rosemary-infused oil over the top and into the slashes. Keep turning the lamb over in the hot oil until it beings to colour all over. 3 Tip the vegetables and herb sprigs into the tin and sprinkle the lamb with a little extra salt. Roast it in the oven for 50 minutes, or until the outside fat starts to brown. Remove the tin from the oven and reduce the temperature down to 160°C (350°F, gas mark four).4 Scrape the vegetables away from the bottom of the tin and turn the lamb over. Baste with a little of the fat and continue to roast for another 45 minutes for medium-rare. To test if it is done, insert a metal skewer into the thickest part of the leg – the tip should feel warm to the touch and the juices that run out of the meat should be fairly pink.5 Remove the lamb into a warmed dish and cover with a loose tent of foil. Blanch the lemon rind in a pan of boiling water for one minute, then drain and set aside. Remove the vegetables from the roasting tin (reserve any that aren’t too dark for tucking around the roast), then pour off all but one tablespoon of the fat. Put the tin on a medium heat and sprinkle over the flour, stirring constantly. Pour in the wine, lemon rind and stock and boil rapidly for about 10 minutes until the gravy thickens, colours and is reduced by half. Season to taste and stir in the redcurrant jelly and add the lemon juice, then simmer gently until the jelly is just melted. Strain into a clean pan and then once it’s hot, pour it into a warmed gravy jug.6 Carve the lamb into thin slices and serve with the reserved roasted vegetables, boiled new season potatoes with mint and hand around the gravy separately at the table with a dish of redcurrant jelly so everyone can help themselves.
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